Hornberger Named Player of the Week, Hirsch Earns Freshman Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State guard Liz Hornberger (Reading, Pa.,) has been named the Horizon League women’s basketball Player of the Week, while her teammate guard Jenna Hirsch (Marlette, Mich.) has been named Freshman of the Week.

Hornberger scored in double figures in both Youngstown State games last week as the Penguins won twice to move to 4-0 in League play. She opened the week by playing all 40 minutes and scoring 11 points, connecting on three three-pointers, in YSU’s 66-57 win over Green Bay. The win was the Penguins first over Green Bay in 17 tries.

On Saturday, Hornberger scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. She also passed out five assists and recorded two steals in the game as Youngstown State defeated Milwaukee, 87-71.

Hirsch earned Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season after helping lead the Penguins to two wins last week. She scored a career-high 20 points, including 11 in the final 5:09 of the game, in YSU’s 66-57 win over Green Bay. Two days later, Hirsch had a career-high nine assists, along with eight points and five rebounds in the win over Milwaukee.

Youngstown State (8-9, 4-0) is off to its best start in conference play in 16 years and returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Oakland.

Top Performers for the Week:Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (So., F) - Campbell recorded two double-doubles last week and now leads the League with 10 on the season. She had 13 points and 12 rebounds in UIC’s win at Detroit and 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in the Flames win at Oakland on Saturday. The 21 rebounds are the most by a Horizon League player this season and the first 20+-rebound performance by a UIC player since 2003.Kim Demmings, Wright State (Jr., G) - Demmings tied her season-high in points with 31 in WSU’s win at Valparaiso on Saturday. She tied her career-high with five three-pointers in the contest.Imani Gordon, Cleveland State (Jr., F) - Gordon posted her third straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Milwaukee. She notched a team-high 19 points against Green Bay.Ashley Green, Milwaukee (Jr., F) - Green led the Panthers by averaging 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game last week. She shot 46% from the floor, made half of her three-point attempts and scored a season-high 25 points Saturday at Youngstown State.Sharon Karungi, Valparaiso (Jr., F) - Karungi scored 19 points and was 8-of-10 from the field in Valpo’s game versus Wright State on Saturday.Megan Lukan, Green Bay (Jr., G) - Lukan posted a season-high 19 points against Youngstown State in addition to tying her career-high with 11 rebounds. She added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in GB’s win over Cleveland State on Saturday.Elena Popkey, Oakland (So., G) - Popkey recorded a career-high 25 points in Oakland’s 88-55 win over Valparaiso on Wednesday. She started 5-of-5 from three-point range in the game. She scored 11 points versus UIC for her 11th double-figure scoring effort of the season.Senee Shearer, Detroit (Sr., G) - Shearer notched her 12th 20+-point game of the season with a game-high 24 points against UIC. She surpassed 1,000 career points in the game.

Top Freshman for the Week:Tesha Buck, Green Bay (Fr., G) - Buck had nine points, three assists and a team-high three steals in the game against Youngstown State on Thursday. In the win over Cleveland State on Saturday, she had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.Aliyah Isaac, Valparaiso (Fr., G) - Isaac had season-highs in minutes played, assists and steals versus Wright State on Saturday.Khayla Livingston, Cleveland State (Fr., G) - Livingston tallied a career-high 18 points against Green Bay on Saturday. She was 7-of-10 from the field in the game, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.Haleigh Ristovski, Detroit (Fr., G) - Ristovski tallied a season-high 11 points and five assists in UDM’s game against UIC.Bre’Zall Warren, Milwaukee (Fr., G) - Warren led UWM freshman by averaging 6.5 points per game, highlighted by a 10-point outing Thursday at Cleveland State.